The present invention relates to an adhesive element which is releasably adherable and which has on an obverse side thereof an image reception layer that enables a desired image to be formed thereon. The present invention also relates to a method of producing the adhesive element.
In general, printed matters such as photographs and posters are attached to wall surfaces or the like for the purpose of interior and exterior decoration or guide. Such printed matters are generally attached by using thumbtacks, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, etc. or displayed by putting them in frames.
However, in a case where a printed matter is secured to a wall surface with thumbtacks or pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, it is difficult to change the position of the attached printed matter because holes are made in the wall surface by the thumbtacks or the wall surface is damaged when the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is peeled off.
Under these circumstances, there has been a demand for a releasable adhesive element having on an obverse side thereof an image reception layer that enables an image to be formed thereon.
The present inventors proposed a novel mouse pad, which is used in an operation of inputting data to a computer, as a releasable adhesive element, in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication Number [hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cJP(A)xe2x80x9d] 10-138696.
When a mouse is used on a desk having a small frictional resistance, the ball in the mouse may skid undesirably. In such a case, the amount of movement of the mouse cannot accurately be transmitted to the associated personal computer. Therefore, it is common practice to place on a desk a mouse pad having a predetermined frictional resistance at a surface thereof and to use a mouse on the mouse pad.
As shown in FIG. 12, a typical mouse pad is formed from a pad layer 81 of rigid polyvinyl chloride or the like and a thick foam layer 82 of expanded polyurethane or the like, which is provided on the reverse side of the pad layer 81. The surface of the pad layer 81 is provided with asperities 83 by embossing. Thus, a proper frictional surface is formed between the mouse and the mouse pad.
However, when a mouse is used on a mouse pad placed on a desk having a very small frictional resistance, the mouse pad itself may slide and move together with the mouse undesirably. In such a case, the amount of movement of the mouse cannot accurately be transmitted to the associated personal computer.
Accordingly, the previously proposed mouse pad has a frictional surface on an obverse side thereof and a releasable adhesive layer formed on a reverse side thereof, thereby preventing the undesired sliding on the top of a desk. We also proposed to provide on the adhesive layer side of the mouse pad an identification part containing identification information, such as characters, numerals, symbols or patterns, to make the mouse pad distinguishable from other commercial products. In the proposed mouse pad, however, because the identification part is provided on the adhesive layer side, the structure of the adhesive layer is restricted. Consequently, it is difficult to form a desired identification part, and it is impossible to provide a mouse pad having a desired image and exhibiting excellent design properties.
JP(A) 8-294981 and JP(A) 10-89342 propose a sucker-backed sheet that is made of a synthetic resin sheet having a poster retainer on an obverse side thereof and suckers formed on a reverse side thereof by screen printing or other similar method. However, such a sheet is merely designed to stick releasably. Therefore, the range of uses of the sheet is limited. Thus, it has heretofore been impossible to form an adhesive element that enables a desired image to be formed on an obverse side thereof and that is usable for many purposes.
An object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive element having an image reception layer on an obverse side thereof and a releasable adhesive layer on a reverse side thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adhesive element having a releasable adhesive layer and an image reception layer that enables a desired image to be formed thereon by an image forming device, e.g. an electrophotographic printer or an ink-jet printer, without forming a plate.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mouse pad having an image reception layer on an obverse side thereof and a releasable adhesive layer on a reverse side thereof. It should be noted that the term xe2x80x9cmouse padxe2x80x9d as used in the present invention means a pad-shaped or mat-shaped member on which a mouse is moved for a computer input operation.